Improvement in hat-irons



NITED ST'IES CHARLES BALL, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN HAT-IRONS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 159,379, dated February2, 1875; application filed September 15, 1874.

To all whom it may concern: 7

Be it known that I, CHARLES E. BALL, of Philadelphia, in the county ofPhiladelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a certain new anduseful Hat-Iron and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use it,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form part ofthis specification, in which Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinalsection. Fig. 2 is a side View, and Fig. 3 is a transverse section, ofmy invention.

My invention has for its object to provide an improved iron for hattersuse, and to combine with such iron a hat smoother and brush.

My invention accordingly consists in the novel construction of a toolconsisting of a combined hatters iron, smoother, and brush.

In the accompanying drawing, A represents a metallic case or shell, madein two sections, a a, hinged at a. B is a core or heater, having alongitudinal bore, 1), at one end of which are inclined channels I) b,the object of which will be hereinafterset forth. 0 represents asmoother, formed of a strip of velvet or eq uivalent material, and D abrush, said smoother and brush being located respectively on differentsides, as shown, of the case A.

A handle may be also secured to the case in any suitable and convenientmanner; but I prefer to employ instead the guards E E, consisting ofblocks or pieces of wood, or other non -conductin g material, which willenable the case to be grasped without injury, by burning, to theoperators hand, the thumb thereof resting on the side E, while thefingers rest on the side E, occupying the spaces 6 0 provided for thatpurpose.

The method of operating the device is as follows: The core is firstremoved and placed vertically over a gas-burner, so that the flame mayascend through the bore 1). The force of the gas will induce currents ofair through the channels I) b, affording a plentiful supply of oxygen tosupport combustion, and producing a low blue flame of intense heat. Whenthe core has been sufficiently heated it is transferred to the case,through which its caloric is duly radiated. While the hat is beingironed it may from time to time be smoothed and brushed with the sametool, thereby saving the time heretofore lost in laying down one tooland taking up another.

This device may be used in the household as well as by manufacturers,enabling any party of ordinary intelligence with a little practice toiron, smooth, and brush a hat at home quite as well as it would be doneby a hatter, thereby supplying a want long felt, but never heretoforesupplied.

What I claim as my invention is As a new article of manufacture thehatiron and smoother herein described consisting of a hinged metalliccase, having wood on two sides, and iron and velvet respectively on theother two sides, and holding a gas-heatin g core, substantially as andfor the purpose described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this2d day of September, 1874.

CHAS. E. BALL.

Witnesses:

J N0. A. BELL, M. DANL. (JoNNoLLY.

